


Deep Ones and Dames

by priestessamy



Series: Rachel is Here [3]
Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Dungeons & Dragons, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-19
Updated: 2017-11-15
Packaged: 2019-01-20 00:05:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12420969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/priestessamy/pseuds/priestessamy
Summary: Sam wants to talk to Steph about some things, but it's too embarrassing and she's too awkward, so they end up talking about tabletop gaming instead.





	1. Poetry and the Gods

**Author's Note:**

> Apparently nobody ships them yet, so here I go with another rarepair.

Steph turned another page in the module book, practically drooling at all the deliciously terrible things she was going to unleash. This new campaign was gonna be leagues better than anything she'd put Mikey through before. She was so engrossed that she completely missed someone approaching her at the picnic table. It was only when they cleared their throat that her attention was partially diverted from the book. “Um, excuse me, Stephanie Gingrich?”

“That's me, darlin', but most folks call me...” she looked up and immediately felt kind of bad for turning on the flirtatious tone without warning. “Sam?”

The mousy girl burst out in a fit of amused giggles that helped to dispel some of the tension in her shoulders. “That's a pretty weird nickname.”

“Steph... I meant Steph. I usually just uh... go by Steph.” She coughed and closed the module, setting it aside and deciding her best move was to just start over. “Anyway, what can I do for you? Got a DVD request?”

Samantha shuffled her feet and adjusted her backpack, looking down for a moment or two. God, she was even blushing. How the hell did this poor girl survive just, like, day to day life? “I uh... I wanted to ask... Are other people allowed to join your games? Or is that just a thing for you and Mikey? I've read a great deal of fantasy literature and I've always been fascinated by tabletop roleplaying.”

The question was a surprising one, if only because it was the first time it had really happened. She occasionally asked other people to join, like the time Chloe hopped in on their final session and pulled off some pretty sick shit. She damn sure wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth if Sam was serious. Still... “Hm, well we're actually just about to start a new campaign. The thing is, it's actually going to be a Lovecraftian story. Probably gonna get pretty dark, not sure if that's your kinda thing or not.”

Sam actually started to get a little indignant, even going so far as to stamp her foot dramatically. “I will have you know I am intimately familiar with the works of Lovecraft as well as several of his contemporaries! Bloch, Howard, Derleth, The King in Yellow, The Great God Pan-”

Steph held up a hand to stop the girl's tirade from carrying on any further, chuckling softly. “Oh my god, I get it, you're good. I just wanted you to know that some kinda messed up stuff is gonna happen. But if you're still interested, then I'm happy to have you around. Frankly, Mikey could use the help. He always insists on playing glass canons. How do you feel about playing a mobster or a detective or something? Some sort of bruiser?”

“Can I still play a girl? I know some of those old stories tended to be really man-centric.”

“You can be non-binary for all I care. As long as you build a character who can take a punch or a bullet and keep on ticking.”

Something about what she said seemed to put Sam more at ease and her face bloomed into a pretty smile. “Then I'd love to.”

* * *

In Steph's dorm, the two of them hung out and talked dice. Steph went over the basics of the game, and Sam proved to be a very fast learner. Scary, almost. When she mentioned as much, Sam just smiled and shrugged. “It's all just numbers, right? I'm pretty good with numbers. Better than other stuff.”

“Well, consider this game practice for the other stuff then. Conversation and banter, puzzle solving, teamwork, all kinds of skills. Now, just take four of these and roll them six times. Add up the top three numbers.” From there, Steph began to teach her about building a character. And before too long, Molly Gilligan was born. An Irish Bostonian gangster with a penchant for fist-fighting and shotguns, and pretty handy behind the wheel of a Ford. Sam was taking her request to heart, and had built a brick shithouse of a woman that would be able to protect whatever frail little skeleton Mikey made for himself.

That felt like more than enough for one day, and now the two of them were just shooting the shit casually. Once Sam got past her awkwardness, it was clear she was a smart kid. Which was why it confused Steph so much that something still seemed to be bothering the girl. She didn't have to wait forever to find out, though, thankfully.

“Um, so... confession. When I came up to talk to you, I didn't actually want to talk about tabletop gaming.” Steph's heart sank a little hearing that. She had gone to all the trouble of giving her a great character and already she was changing the story in her head to accommodate a new player. If this was Sam's way of backing out, she was going to be a grump for the rest of the week. Perhaps Sam sensed as much, because she started quickly correcting herself. “But I still wanna play! I just... I wanted to talk to you about something else entirely, and then I chickened out.”

She quirked an eyebrow and began to grin just a little. “Go on?”

“Well, s-so... It's not exactly a well-kept secret that you're gay. And lately I've been... been noticing things about myself. And I don't really know if it's a thing or totally normal or what.” The more she spoke the more rapid her speech became. It was honestly kind of cute if not also kind of annoying.

Steph chuckled softly and put a hand on her shoulder. “Easy, take a breath, Myers. I always knew this day would come, when I, a jaded old queer, would be called upon to educate the next generation. I'm happy to help.” She pulled her hand back and noted just a tiny flicker of something on Sam's face before she decided on a regular old smile.

“How did you know? Like how did you figure it out?”

Ah, that old chestnut. Perhaps everyone had that question at some point. “I dunno, I don't think it was ever one particular thing, y'know? Like... when I was six and all the boys talked about girls having cooties, and I thought yes, that means we're immune to each other, jackpot. Or when I was twelve and my friends were talking about cute boys, and they asked me who I thought was cute, so I picked Greg Matheson at random and they were all 'eeww I think he's gay' and boy if that didn't confuse me for a while. My first game of spin the bottle when Suzy Kirshner and I kissed and she thought it was weird and I pretended it was too even though it was really nice. And of course, there was my first kiss with my first girlfriend freshman year and it was the very definition of 'this feels right' and I knew I only ever wanted to kiss girls for the rest of my life.”

She hadn't meant to go on quite such a dreamy monologue, but these things happened when you got Steph talking about Girls as a subject. Sam looked legitimately touched, kind of starry-eyed. “Okay yeah when you put it like that... Pretty sure I'm gay...”

Steph smiled back at her softly and nodded her head in approval. She really hadn't expected her day to go like this when she got up that morning. But she couldn't necessarily complain. It felt good to help someone else figure things out. Suddenly an idea struck her and she smiled a little brighter. “Hey, how would you like some extra assistance figuring this out?” Sam's eyes shot open, her face immediately going red, and Steph realized a few seconds too late that she could have phrased that better. “I-I was thinking about adding another character to the party, someone with some latent psychic powers. What if Molly had a girlfriend? Maybe... a flapper heiress princess type?

Sam was practically beaming, now that she had gotten over her initial shock. “I think... Molly would like that.”

 


	2. The Loved Dead

The day of their first gaming session, Sam showed up surprisingly early. Although perhaps Steph should have realized that Samantha was exactly the kind of girl who would be constantly punctual. And it wasn't as if she minded. It would be good to show her a few last-minute things before Mikey showed up and the game got underway. So she stretched out the roll of laminated graphing paper and set out her dry erase markers, then fetched the massive tub 'o dice so that Samantha could grab herself a handful to play with.

“Oh, and I got that other character rolled up. I present to you... Becky.” She flashed a character sheet and passed it to Sam so she could look over it. “She's an heiress with a wealthy Boston family, and like all good princesses, she doesn't want anything to do with that life. So she mostly just parties and hangs out with her buff mobster girlfriend. She also talks about strange dreams she has sometimes and occasionally she seems to know things before they happen. So weird events in your city are going to play havoc with her.”

Sam looked over it, nodding slowly. Then she looked back at Steph, her cheeks lightly dusted with pink. “So... who's going to play her?”

She took the sheet back with a little smirk. “I am, duh. Unless you know someone else we can wrangle into playing in the next like... fifteen minutes.”

“O-Oh, right, of course. You're the DM, that would make sense. I guess I hadn't really though about that side of it.” Yeah, she was definitely blushing.

Steph was content to just assume blushing was Sam's natural state. Because any other implications were a little too scary to worry about. She continued setting things out while they chatted about some of the basics and what could be expected from this first game. “I don't know if we'll really get to much combat today, mostly it will be introductions and some skill checks. We might make it to a fight right toward the end.”

“Well, I think Molly is raring for a fight, whenever one should happen.” Samantha giggled softly, and Steph had to admit that it was kind of nice to see the girl breaking through the shell she normally had at all times.

The door opened and in walked Mikey. He had been forewarned about the new player joining their game, but still he looked just a touch surprised that someone else was actually around. Mikey could be weird around people, but he was also a generally good dude once you got to know him. And Sam struck her as the kind of person that would get along with him. “Hey. So. Steph tells me you're into Lovecraft? Got a favorite story?” From anyone else, this would have sounded like some 'fake geek girl' quiz. But she knew Mikey well enough to be sure that he was legitimately trying to greet her and make friends in his own special way.

Samantha seemed unperturbed by the question, and even perked up a little. “Oh! Well... I know that I should probably just say The Dunwich Horror, which is probably my second favorite. But I have a soft spot for The Cats of Ulthar. Because I feel like there's something really sweet about it, underneath all the spooks. Just a guy who really loves cats and wanted to make them heroes.”

Mikey rolled his eyes. “Yeah, as long as you ignore what his actual black cat was called in real life.”

Samantha sucked in a little air and rubbed her arm nervously. “Yes. Yes, there's some really, really gross stuff in his biography. But perhaps that's a discussion for another time?”

Steph feared she'd lost the plot, which was kind of sad considering she was the freaking DM. But she was also probably the least nerdy one in the room. She would have to wait until later to ask one of them about what name could be so bad for a black cat that they wouldn't even say it out loud.

At any rate, Mikey seemed to find her answer acceptable and found himself a place to sit in front of the graph sheet. He removed his character sheet and manual from his bag and smiled with pride. “I'll be playing Alistair, a book salesman. Learned in all things mystical and strange, and decent with a few magic tricks.” As predicted, Mikey knew his strengths and he stuck to them.

The girls spent some time explaining the other two characters to him, and then Steph got started with the set-up, putting on her 'storytelling' voice.

* * *

Molly, you're hanging out with the rest of your gang, the Wild Irish Roses, at your usual spot. It's a bar out in South Boston you use for funneling money and drinking. A lot. Everything is fantastic as ever, until one of your low-level girls comes running in looking haggard and terrified. “Holy shit, one of our soldiers have been killed. Maimed. And it was on our turf.”

This could be a random accident. Or it could be a declaration of war from one of the other crews.

“It's always some fuckin' thing...”

* * *

Stephanie paused for a moment, quite surprised by what just happened. She would never have imagined someone like Samantha would be capable of so taking on a character without a shred of self-consciousness. “Well damn, Myers. Really playing the character there. Gonna give you a one-time 50 XP bonus.”

* * *

It isn't exactly difficult to find the grisly scene. What had once been a promising up-and-comer was now a streak of red carnage spread across a large area down a seedy alleyway. It's all blood and guts and bits of skin. Whoever did this was either a real psychopath or (and you really hope this isn't possible) not even human. Some part of you wants to say it was magic, but you have enough trouble believing your girlfriend's prophetic dreams.

You search the scene a little more and find only one thing of any interest. It's a sheet of paper, or more likely parchment or like a fancy scroll or something. It's covered in drawings and symbols you can't read – and more to the point, staring at them for too long, you swear they begin to move, and your head feels fuzzy. But it's your only lead, so you head back to the bar to meet with the girls and discuss what you should do.

Everyone is equally at a loss for what to do. The only thing you can all agree on is that this scroll thing you found is bad news. You're back in your private office when Becky comes in, chipper and cheery as ever. She pecks you on the cheek. “Hey Red. What's shakin'?”

“One of my girls got... Hell, you don't wanna hear about this stuff.”

She actually plants herself in your lap with a serious look, her arms wrapping around your neck for balance or affection or both. “Red, I told you a hundred times. You can't bury all this crap. Talk to me.”

“...Someone or something killed Jenny, not two blocks from here. I got an iron stomach, but this shit... Like somethin' in a pulp novel. And all I got's this weirdo mumbo jumbo.” You motion with exasperation to the page and she looks it over.

Becky hums in thought for a moment, then climbs off your lap, picking it up and looking it over, only to suddenly put it back down. She looks utterly disturbed. “Okay I don't know what the hell that is but, yeah, it ain't good. Still... I might know about a guy could help explain this. Spends all his time reading the kind of books you have to drop big money on just to see the cover.”

You stand and smile. “That's more than I had to go off of a few minutes ago. Where do we find him, Becks?”

* * *

Alistair, it's almost time to close up your shop when you hear the bell ding out front. You go to investigate, your cane clicking with a familiar pleasant sound as you pass from your private office to the main floor. Walking in are two women, one a massive redhead with a soldier's cut and a classy suit, the other a little blonde waif in a pretty party dress. You have absolutely no clue what they could be doing in a shop like this, but the serious looks on their faces tell remind you of the old adage about books, covers, and the judgment thereof.

“What can I do for you this evening, ladies? I'm afraid I will be shutting up my store before too long.”

Your opinion about chasing them away changes somewhat when the burly one puts down a tattered bit of parchment covered in very familiar script and images. It will take time to actually sit and translate, but you can immediately see words relating to doom and misery. “Someone was killed, and this was left near the scene. I hear you're the one to talk to when it comes to shit that don't make sense.”

You nod, doing your best to appear sagely and helpful while hiding any fear that might be building in the pit of your stomach. “Yes, I think perhaps I can do something with this. But it may take some time. Thank you for bringing this to my attention.” You turn away from them, and the big one slams a hand down on the counter with a loud thump.

“Hang on there, old man! You don't get to just keep that. If I'm gonna get payback for this insult, then that damn thing is the only clue I have. You wanna read it, you do it now.”

She could easily throttle you with her bare hands. But you know you could decimate her with a spell. You are at something of an impasse. The poor blonde just looks like some dynamite is about to go off. You turn back to face them once again, your face going harder. “This is not like taking a passage from the original Don Quixote and putting it in English. The text on this page is written in a dead language, very dead. And I will need to cross-reference these images with dozens of other books in my personal collection. It is going to take far longer than you seem to think it would.”

She does not back down. “Then we'll fucking hire you, whatever. But I'm not letting that thing out of my sight.”

“My services are not for hire like that. And besides, whatever this page is meant to chronicle, it is clearly far outside your comfort zone, dear lady.”

Before the heated exchange can get any further, the blonde one places a hand on her friend's shoulder. “Hey, Red? We uh... we got company. Weird fuckin' company.”

All of you look out the door where two figures stand, cloaked completely in robes of blood red. One carries a staff. The other a ritual sacrifice knife. “Hey, old man.”

“Alistair,” you say gruffly, though she doesn't seem to care.

“You think they had something to do with whatever killed my friend?”

You sigh, lifting your cane and noting the way it glows ever so faintly. “I think it's a safe assumption.”

“Good.” It's all she says before slipping a set of brass knuckles on each hand and charging through the door. The blonde woman gives you a weary smile before running off after her.

“It's always some... fucking thing...” you mutter before following them as well.

* * *

“Nice one, Mikey. Fifty XP to you too, if only for the symmetry.” Everyone sat back for a moment with a pleased look on their faces. “As much as it pains me, I love the dramatic tension, so I'm gonna cut things off here for now.

Samantha's eyes began to shine a little bit and she clapped her hands excitedly. “This was so much fun! I can't wait for the next session.”

Steph chuckled, leaning back against her bed. “And you were just gonna ask me about gay stuff. Aren't you glad you lied and decided to talk to me about tabletop gaming instead?” That felt maybe a little too teasing so she chose to back off before she said something actually mean. “Anyway, you're doing super awesome, so I'm glad you did.”

“...me too. I really like Molly, she's gonna be tons of fun. And um... I think you had a great idea with Becky. She's fun to have around too.” Sam's cheeks began to change color, shifting more red. Steph wondered what was going on in that busy little mind of hers. It could have been almost anything. Perhaps someday she would finally get better at understanding the strange little mouse.

* * *

Just as Samantha had shown up early, so she also stayed a bit longer than Mikey had. Sam helped Steph with cleaning up from the game. With not much else to do that day, they ended up running out in her car to get some food. At some point, Stephanie figured she might as well prod the girl's mind a little more since there was something she'd been wondering anyway. “Hey, so, I've been thinking... I mean, I know I'm like The Gay or whatever around school. But like... Chloe and Rachel haven't exactly made themselves secretive about their relationship. Why didn't you ask one of them about stuff?”

Sam shook her head almost immediately, hurrying to swallow a mouthful of sandwich. “N-No way! Those two are way too intimidating!”

On the one hand, she understood where she was coming from. On the other hand, Sam clearly didn't know either girl too well. “They can be, at first. But they're also like the biggest dorks I know. And I know me, so that's saying something.” The dumb joke got Samantha to lighten back up with a tiny giggle. “Seriously though, they're both just like big puppy dogs when you get to know them. If you ever feel like it, I'm sure they'd be happy to know we've got another trooper in our camp.”

“Maybe... A-Anyway, it's not like I was lying about all the tabletop stuff. I actually was interested in learning more. It was more of a cover excuse. And I got there eventually. Plus, at the time, you seemed more... I don't know, approachable. Easier to just walk up to and talk with. And frankly, I think I was right in my assessment. You're... really cool, Steph.”

Stephanie chuckled and reached over, ruffling Sam's hair playfully. “Aww! Thanks kiddo. You're pretty cool yourself. Ooh! Idea. What if I asked Chloe and Rachel to join the game? With Chloe around, I'm sure we'd have at least one more character who could take a hit to help cover for Mikey. And... ooh, maybe I could give Becky to Rachel.”

To her surprise, a sad look crossed Sam's face. “Oh. You don't wanna keep playing her?”

She couldn't be totally sure why Sam was upset, and she didn't want to screw things up by assuming the wrong thing. So she figured she would just be honest. “She's gonna be a fun character in the right hands, and mine aren't the ones. Becky's supposed to be an heiress and a party girl with a mysterious past. That's got Rachel written all over it. Besides. It's tough to be both the DM and also a party member. Giving the character to someone else will free me up to murder you guys even faster.” She snickered softly, and Samantha was at least trying to smile back.

Still, as she drove them back to Blackwell, she couldn't shake the feeling she had just screwed up somehow.

 


	3. The Terrible Old Man

Steph took up a seat at her usual spot outside the school to wait for Chloe and Rachel. She had asked Sam if the girl might like to come along with her since the decision at least involved her. But she'd been quite resolute that she didn't have much interest in it. There was something very seriously wrong here, and while some part of Steph had an idea about what might be causing it, she didn't want to go and jump to any conclusions. So instead she opted for willing ignorance and chose to meet the others by her lonesome, with Sam's blessing that she could tell them about the reason she even wanted them in the game in the first place.

Eventually they came sauntering over looking like a perfect couple, as much as it might have aggravated Stephanie just a little bit. The two of them might have been quite the mismatched pair, but they were so goddamn happy it was infuriating. She quickly stuffed that frustration back down and gave her usual cool smile. “There they are.”

“Sup dork, you said you wanted us for your dork game?”

Rachel jabbed Chloe in the ribs with her elbow. “Be nice. Anyway, tell me more about your dork game.”

Yep. They were so insufferably perfect. “Okay so it's like a... an old-school horror thing. Roaring twenties setting. Something mysterious is going on. You have to solve it because that's just the kind of people you are. So we've got Mikey playing a strange old bookseller, and Sam has joined us as a big badass gangster. Chloe, if you want a character I've already created for you, you can play a slick private investigator with a revolver and a silver tongue.”

“That has me written all over it,” Chloe purred and she shared an exaggerated look with Rachel that now had all three of them blushing just a little. Stupid double-entendres “But why are we dragging Rachel into it?”

Steph cleared her throat and rubbed her neck slowly as she searched for the right words. “So um... As it turns out, Sam is like us. Maybe gay, maybe bi, probably something. I offered to help her figure out her stuff by giving her character a girlfriend – a party girl with psychic abilities. And I was thinking Rachel could play her since she's gonna be a full party member and I can't keep controlling her.”

Rachel seemed delighted by this news and clapped her hands together excitedly. “That's so precious! I'd love to help!”

“Baby, if you get stolen from me by Samantha Myers, I'm gonna be so pissed...”

“Come on, Chloe. It's just a game. Same thing as acting in a play, sometimes I have to kiss someone.”

Steph sat up a little more, pleased to hear that Rachel understood. “Yes! Yeah, that, exactly. As an actress, you will be perfect for this character. Becky will be a lot of fun for you. You just have to pull double-duty a little bit, being the character but also maybe just... y'know, checking in with Sam about how she's feeling and stuff. If that's not too much to ask.”

The blonde shook her head confidently. “Not even. I'm so down for this.”

* * *

Joanne, you're in your office, stewing over the various cases you've been working on and failing to solve. Half a dozen missing persons, and every single one has ended in a big fat nothing. The only lead you have is some wacky-ass symbol that you can't make heads or tails of. You have exactly one egg-head friend to show it to and their best guess was 'old-timey bible language'.

You're taken out of your thoughts (and your whiskey) by the sound of a kerfuffle out in the street. You figure either A) a fight out in the alley is a good way to lose you business, or B) you could really stand to join a nice dust-up. Regardless, you have to head outside and see what's going on, figuring it's probably a couple of drunks who got too heated.

What you don't expect are red-robed weirdos. Sure, it's also a shock to see the hulking ginger followed by the pixie and the old man, but...

Okay, so the whole thing's daffy. But you gain clarity when you catch sight of a strange symbol on the back of those red robes. You might, if you were feeling saucy, call them kinda old-timey biblical. Only now you're wondering if maybe it's not something very different. Either way, normal people don't go around wearing get-ups like that. So you decide to help the bizarre coalition of wayward folks, and draw your revolver.

You fire off one warning shot in the air. “Hey! Some of us are trying to drink in peace here!” Only the little blonde one looks rattled. The redhead goes straight for the one with the wicked knife, decking him right in the face. It looks like it hurt. A lot. The old man actually draws a fucking sword out of his cane and clashes against the one carrying a staff. Spry for an elder.

That's not nearly as surprising as his next move. He drops the sheath from his left hand, and it suddenly erupts in flames. He thrusts it up and inside the hood, and the screaming sound that follows is haunting. He's still up, impossibly, but looking far less pleased about the entire situation. You expect the waif to go and hide somewhere, but she seems just as scrappy as any of them. A slender hand lifts up to her temple, and the poor bastard begins to float a few inches off the ground. Without warning, an invisible force sends him into the nearest brick wall.

You decide if anyone needs help at the moment, it's actually the lady in the suit. She's got big fists and an impressive set of brass knuckles. But that blade has bad news written all over it. You take aim and...

* * *

When the dice stopped rolling, Steph stared at Chloe for a moment or two in complete and total disbelief. “I swear to god, all you ever do is roll criticals – hits and fails. Like you have the luck of a scoundrel, but in real life. You are truly a marvel, Chloe Price.”

* * *

Anyway. You take aim, cock the hammer on your cannon, and fire straight and true as you're ever going to get. You nail him perfectly between the eyes, and nothing short of a tape measure is going to prove otherwise. The figure drops like a sack of potatoes to the ground, and immediately the other three ease up. Without a shred of dignity, the old man sheathes his sword and hobbles over to the guy he'd just scorched, searching through his robes like it's the most normal thing ever. The blonde one picks up the staff and gives it an experimental swing like she's a ball player, then nods with a satisfied smile. Likewise, the sartorial giant takes up the curvy knife and practices swinging it about and palming it.

You're more interested in their clothing, though. As you turn the closest guy over, you can see the symbol more clearly. That's definitely what you've been seeing all these weeks. “Fuck, I got so caught up. I should have left one of them alive.”

“You'd have gotten nothing from them anyway. These men are part of a society that is radical in their ideals and fanatical in their application. No amount of torture would have provided information. They would likely choke on their own tongues if need be.” The old man seems sure, which means he's your new lead. Not every day you manage to find someone who knows so much about something so obscure.

“Start talking, geezer, or the next bullet might end up in your gut.” It's not exactly fashionable to threaten older people, but fine. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

He looks tired, and not like the way your grampa looked tired after a long day. He's got a lot of weight on those frail shoulders. “It's clear we all have a great deal to talk about. Please come back inside. I'll brew some tea.”

* * *

Becky, the four of you are now sitting in a lounge upstairs from the book shop. It's a cluttered place, well lived-in. Despite what he had previously said, the old man Alistair has already begun to translate a few bits and pieces of that weird piece of paper. Meanwhile, the rest of you are sharing your stories.

“Yeah, so I've had a couple missing persons cases turn up empty. And it sounds like it's connected to this weird shit? I'm just glad I haven't come across someone getting turned inside out.” Molly winces, no doubt still affected by the sight from earlier that day.

“I'm sorry to say your friend was not killed for any specific reason, Molly. She was destroyed by... well, let's just call it a single-minded messenger.” Alistair looks grim, and shaken. Considering he took on two violent men without a single tremor, that is not good news. “A monster tore through her simply because she was in the way. This is a kind of letter, a missive, that was not meant to be seen by the likes of us.”

“Okay but what the hell could possibly do something like that? Ain't no gun in the whole city could reduce a person to just their guts.” Molly is stone-faced. Scary.

“Because it wasn't a gun,” Alistair says mysteriously. “First, I need to explain that we are entering territory that is not only dangerous, but otherworldly. I will likely sound like a madman. If you are not ready to delve into such things, this would be the time to leave.” You are already plagued by strange dreams of insane flute-players in ethereal lands. Molly isn't shaken by much. And this Joanne woman seems to be mostly focused on solving her cases. Nobody leaves. “If my research is correct, your girl was mostly likely destroyed by a hideous creature as it emerged from its own dimension into ours. They are called hounds, though that is a generous description.”

The private detective just chuckles and shakes her head, then takes a drink from her tea. “And here I was worried I was the one with the substance abuse problem. What, creatures from beyond space and time popping in to see how we're doing? And one just crashes into that poor gangster like a runaway Model T? Come on, old man, you gotta have something better than that.”

Alistair looks disappointed but hardly surprised. He knows he's saying crazy things. “No, the beasts in question aren't so intelligent. They're used like messengers, which is why you found that parchment in the bloodbath. It was left behind. And if you want to find out who is at fault, not to mention the fates of your missing persons, then we need to trace this message to its intended destination.”

You know how insane it all sounds. But you also know that Alistair is right. You've seen it, in those dreams you have that aren't dreams. “Hounds...” You speak haltingly as you search for the words. “I remember something. Hounds of... Tindalos?”

“Wait, what? When did you hear this?” Molly has always found your premonitions and dreams a bit difficult, and even now she seems confused.

You're afraid to keep going, but the time has finally come for these things to be said. “It was a vision or a dream or... a memory? Monsters that crawl around alleyways and seem to enter shadows an' corners, same as you or I would walk through a door! And they ain't just fast, they're dangerous too. But worst of all, they're just beasts, pets. There's folks and things that ain't folks out there too, and they're the one's we need to be scared of.”

“Great, all my leads are coming from storybooks and opium dreams. Fuckin' fantastic.” You glare at the private eye, but say nothing.

Instead, Molly says something. “Hey, fuck you, dick. Becky don't make this shit up off the top of her head. It's legit.” Your eyes widen for a moment in complete surprise. She had never been so sure before.

“Ladies.” Alistair finally cuts in. “It's going to take me some time to finish my translation and research. And it will be much harder with you arguing here. Go home. Get some rest. Come back tomorrow morning.”

“Suits me just fine,” mutters Joanne, heading downstairs and back to her own place in something of a hurry.

You take Molly's hand and lead her outside, heading for the apartment you share. You're ready to hit the hay after such a crazy night. Neither of you says anything until you're safely shut up from the world and you can breathe easy for a moment or two. You climb in bed next to Molly, idly touching her muscles and trying to process what kind of danger you've been wrapped up in. Just as you place a kiss against her shoulder, she finally speaks.

“I'm sorry.”

* * *

It wasn't until Sam stood up from the game and left without another word that Steph realized it wasn't Molly who had said that.

Everyone just sat there and stared at one another for a solid thirty seconds or so as they tried to figure out what just happened. Chloe eventually cleared her throat, trying to get some kind of conversation going. “So do you think she's... like... gonna come back or...?”

Rachel nudged her gently with an encouraging smile. “You seem to know her the best out of all of us. Why don't you go check up on her?”

“Yeah, I should do that.” Steph pushed herself up off her bed, sighing softly. “Mikey, um, you know the way these things go. Have Chloe and Rachel help you clean up and just stack shit on my desk. I don't want you guys waiting around if this takes a while. I promise things are gonna pick up in the story real soon. It's gonna be uh... awesome...” As she stepped into the hallway, she saw Sam's door shut and heard it lock. Steph walked over and prepared to knock. “Yeah... awesome.”

 


	4. Cool Air

Steph raised her hand, then paused for a moment. Something about this really terrified her. She just knew that no matter what happened, it wouldn't be pleasant. She preferred to be easy-going, low-key, that kind of thing. She wasn't exactly used to having heavy conversations with people. But then again, she didn't want to let poor Sam suffer either. It felt just plain wrong. Finally she summoned up her courage and knocked. Only... there was no answer. She waited a little while, then knocked again, but things remained quiet. “Sam...? Hey, i-it's me. It's Steph. I just wanted to make sure you were okay. You left in a hurry.” Samantha just kept right on not talking, though.

“Um... Well, you know where to find me if you need anything...”

* * *

Stephanie had still been expecting to hear from Sam before too long. Maybe that night or certainly some time the next day. But no matter how many times they passed in the hallway, Sam always had her eyes toward the ground or her nose buried in a book. It was obvious she was trying to avoid her. And that hurt, for some reason. Then she would remind herself that the two of them were barely even friends. It wasn't as if she had any kind of claim to the girl's openness. She found a place to sit with Chloe and Rachel for lunch, setting down her food with a soft sigh.

“Girl trouble?” Rachel asked, with a grin like a knife.

Steph glared at her over the tray of 'food'. “Can you please not phrase it like that?”

Now it was Chloe's turn. “I think it's applicable! She's a girl, you're having trouble. It's girl trouble.”

She sighed again and cut herself off from saying anything rude by shoving a roll in her mouth. “Okay well you make it sound like we're dating, which we absolutely are not.”

“Are you sure about that?” This time there was no grin from Rachel, no hint of a joke. She seemed almost concerned.

Stephanie sat up a little taller, eyes narrowing. “I tend to have a pretty good sense for when I'm in a relationship with someone.”

Rachel and Chloe shared a look, and Chloe just shrugged helplessly, leaving Rachel to explain. “I guess you didn't see it yesterday. When Sam apologized?” Steph just shook her head, unsure where this was going. “She wasn't in-character. She wasn't looking at me or Chlo' or Mikey. She looked right at you, said 'sorry' and then left. Whatever's going on, I think it includes you.”

“Not much I can do with this info. She won't even look at me, let alone talk to me. I didn't even do anything!”

Chloe looked at her sympathetically. “Can I give you a loaded piece of advice? With complete admission that it totally sounds like relationship counseling but it totally applies to friends too? Sometimes you screw up exactly because you didn't do anything. And you may not get an idea of what that nothing is until she just tells you. It could take a while, but you gotta just be patient, y'know?”

Steph didn't like the idea of being in trouble for doing nothing. But she also had to at least consider their input. She wasn't blind. She could see that something weird was going on. And sometimes the only way to understand a situation was to rely on outsider perspectives. “Yeah, I'll uh... I'll keep it in mind.”

* * *

Later that evening, she was hanging out in her room with Mikey. He attempted to keep the conversation on their game and where the story was going, even as Steph kept injecting more bits and pieces of her weird talk with the girls at lunch. “And it's like... like, who do they think they are? Assuming stuff about me and her??”

“...Literally all I asked was what Alistair should tell the other characters the next time they see each other...”

Steph groaned and buried her face in her hands. “Shit, I'm sorry Mikey. This is just messing with me. I don't think Sam is interested in outing herself. And if other people start picking up on some kind of something...? Ugh, it could be messy and weird.”

There was a moment of quiet before Mikey coughed awkwardly. Steph finally looked up and saw that Sam was standing there in the doorway, about to knock at her door jamb. “Anyway, I hate awkward social interaction so I'm going to go find Drew. He promised me ice cream.” Mikey leaves without another word, and Steph can't really blame him.

She cleared her throat and shifted over, making some room on the bed. “Hey...”

It clearly took Sam a lot of effort to walk through that door. Even more to come close and sit down. “Hey...” she said back softly. Steph watched as she folded her hands in her lap, then unfolded them and attempted to lay them casually on top of her knees. Then she apparently changed her mind again, going back to holding them folded together. “I... owe you just... the most massive apology...”

Steph's eyes widened and she finally looked up at Samantha's face. Here she was, absolutely certain that she had done something dumb, and come to find out that wasn't even the issue! “Honestly, I'm not really sure what for.”

“B-Because... When I said that I asked you about tabletop gaming as a cover for asking about being gay... That was also kind of a cover.” There were a few layers to that statement and Stephanie wasn't having the easiest time following along. Her confusion must have been pretty clear on her face because Sam actually cracked a smile. “Sorry, that was too convoluted. What I'm saying is... that... I wanted to come over and talk to you just... just because I was... interested in you. You're cute and nerdy and funny and... just overall pretty awesome. It can't come as that much of a shock.”

It actually _could_ come as something of a shock. Even if the both of them were interested in girls, Stephanie was pretty sure she couldn't be Sam's 'type'. The two of them were so different, after all! And even if it was something of a compliment for Sam to develop feelings for her, that didn't mean they could just go straight to hooking up either. Then again... hell, it wasn't exactly like she hadn't had the thought here and there that Sam could be pretty cute too. And there wasn't anything inherently wrong with the idea or...

_Holy shit,_ she realized, _I've been sitting here for a good fifteen or thirty seconds without saying a damn word. Speak idiot!_ “That does explain a few things. But I'm not sure what that has to do with what happened at the game...”

Sam nodded her head sadly. “R-Right well... So as the game started up, I figured I would use everything with Becky to kind of test myself about whether I really liked you or not. And yeah that's kind of a dumb idea. But for the first session, I was starting to feel certain that I was just... y'know... a soft-hearted baby gay. Then, you said you were going to pass the character off to Rachel Amber, and that freaked me out. Still, I figured I could change my metric. If I suddenly got a big annoying crush on Rachel instead, then maybe I needed to pump the brakes and stop falling for everyone.” Sam took a long, slow breath. Her voice had been getting anxious and trembling the more she spoke, her pace picking up until it was tough to tell what she was saying. “Only... I didn't really feel anything for Rachel. She was playing Becky perfectly but it wasn't doing anything for me. A-And... And I knew why. And I just freaked again.” She released the breath, shaking more than ever.

Steph gently placed a hand on her shoulder, entirely uncertain how close she wanted to be right then.

“Take a few more breaths. It's okay. I don't mind.”

Samantha looked back at her with eyes full of wonder and some really genuine surprise. “You don't? I-I mean I just thought it would be annoying to have some little freshman crushing on you...”

“Well, sure, if they were a total twerp. But circumstances are different when it's a cute girl who reads more books in a month than I do in a year. A girl who can roleplay like a boss even when she's new at it. A girl who is dorky as fuck.” Steph reached up and teasingly messed up Sam's hair a little. Thankfully, this elicited a giggle as she tried to fix it. “So you'll have to forgive me for being happy with the news.”

That look of wonder on Sam's face only grew more intense the longer she looked at her and heard what she had to say. “Exactly how happy are we talking here?” Her face fell just as quickly. “You don't have to be or do anything you aren't actually interested in. I wouldn't want pity attention.”

Steph rolled her eyes and reached out again, this time helping to fix the hair that she had just ruffled. Now she was smoothing her fingers through it over and over again. Sam seemed like she needed to hear something calm for now. “Trust me, I don't do a damn thing I don't wanna do. And frankly I don't know exactly what I want right now. But I know I still want you in my game. I still want to hang out with you. Maybe other things will follow, or maybe you'll realize you're too good for me and hook up with someone hotter. Life is all about possibilities.”

Steph had honestly been concerned that this might not be good enough. But to her pleasant surprise, Sam lit up, her face flushing, her smile blooming. “O-Okay! That's... Well, that's more than what my paranoid mind was telling me I might get.” Without warning, Steph was suddenly pulled into a very tight hug, enough to knock some of the breath out of her. “I'm sorry again for ruining the game.”

She couldn't really get a reply out until she was released, pausing for a second to regain her composure. “Don't even worry about it. The session was actually starting to wrap up anyway, unless everyone agreed to going ahead for another three hours. Maybe we can try a marathon session over break, once I get you guys out of Boston. There's still a lot to get through.”

“That would be awesome!” Sam bounced excitedly where she sat. But the excitement slowly passed as something new dawned on her and her face fell. “So... what now?”

Stephanie thanked her lucky stars that Sam didn't immediately ask if they were now girlfriends. That might have been too much. “Eh, now it's whatever we want. Ideally, we would go on a date. Just to kind of feel things out.”

“Really?” Immediately Samantha lit up again, and Steph just couldn't help but lean in to press a kiss to her temple. “I'd love to do that. Do you have any ideas?”

“I think I might have one or two rattling around.” That was a total lie. She had no clue what she was going to do. But right now she figured Sam needed to hear that things were okay, that things would be alright. But Steph had a sneaking suspicion that Chloe and Rachel would be chomping at the bit to give her more advice.

 


	5. What the Moon Brings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much to all of you who have been reading this so far. It's a real rarepair, so every view is worth a hundred on any other fic <3

Steph was stretched out dramatically across the floor of Chloe's dorm while the two girls sat on her bad trying very hard to not be too amused by her predicament. The poor girl scrubbed at her eyes with the heels of her palms, letting out a low growl of frustration. “I just feel like I'm totally brain-dead and have no clue what I'm doing here. Wh- What the hell kind of date do you take a girl like Sam on?? I don't wanna go out for a meal because can you imagine what it would be like if either of us ran out of talking points? Just... Just the most unbearable thing ever. Library dates. Are those a thing? Or at least a book store? Do you guys know when that creepy traveling carnival is coming to Arcadia Bay? Jesus, listen to me, I'm talking about taking her out to a creepy carnival. What happened to my braaaiiinn???” She whined pathetically, looking over at her friends in the hopes that they might (if nothing else) stop her ridiculous blathering.

It was about that time the dam apparently broke as the both of them burst out in bright laughter that did nothing to ease Steph's growing anxiety. She shot a glare at them, and finally Rachel managed to push it down enough to smile at her sympathetically. “Ha~ Sorry, Steph, that was probably a bit too much. I've just never been able to see this side of you before. I think it's super cute that you're this stressed about taking Sam on a good date. But... you might be over-thinking it just a little.”

“Babe, you're being generous. She's completely lost it. Steph, dude, keep it nice and simple. She's a quiet book dork. But she's also got a hidden badass in their somewhere. So... order in something cheap and delicious and then watch a book dork movie together.”

“Great, I only have like thirty of those. Easy pick. Not even a problem.” She didn't notice the way Chloe and Rachel shared a simultaneous eye roll, and yet she could somehow feel it in her bones. “Please don't give me that. Just let me have this. I haven't been able to freak out about a date in ages.”

“You could always make her garlic bread and write a song for her, then make out, and finish off the evening by getting the shit beaten out of you by one of her seven evil exes.” Chloe grinned, but aside from the snark, it actually turned on a lightbulb in Steph's head.

She shot up to a seated position and grinned at Chloe. “You're a genius.”

Rachel's brow knitted together and she pouted slightly. “Please tell me you're not taking her seriously.”

“Chloe? Never. But she's right. I think I've finally got it.”

* * *

Steph was on the move almost immediately. First she had to grab her car and drive over to the next town where they actually had something resembling a respectable movie store. It was a good thing the movie in question was still so new because it made finding a copy of Scott Pilgrim extremely easy. She was back in her room as fast as she could hurry in order to straighten everything up. Even if Sam had seen her living space several times before, this was supposed to be special, dammit! She wanted her to feel 100 percent comfortable.

As she dusted off surfaces and threw away trash, she made sure to send a text to Samantha letting her know. “You. Me. Tonight. My dorm.” She stared at the message for a long time, then hastily deleted the entire thing. That made it sound like Sam was going to walk in and Steph would be wearing nothing but a smile, with a rose clenched between her teeth. No, this was most definitely not going to be that! Well, maybe if Samantha was amenable. But... probably not. _Ugh, head out of the gutter, idiot!_

So she tried again. “Chinese food and a movie in my dorm tonight? My treat~” Granted, it wasn't like Sam was about to turn her down considering the whole confession thing. But she still preferred to play it light and easy. That was kind of her thing after all.

While she waited for a reply, she went back to cleaning and straightening. It started to take just long enough to get a reply that Steph was getting nervous. The chime from her phone was enough to make her jump with a small gasp. “Jesus tapdancing... Ugh...” She reached for her phone and flicked it open quickly. “Hmmm. 'Sounds great. Six?' Dammit, Sam, that doesn't give me anything to work on! Which... would make sense, you idiot, because she's literally just saying yes.” She sent one more text to confirm that six was good, then resumed cleaning.

* * *

At 5:57 there was a very polite knock at Steph's door. And while she had tried desperately to keep herself under control, she couldn't stop from jumping at the sound. _Oh my god, Steph, why are you the most useless lesbian on the entire planet. This is Samantha Myers we're talking about here. The only aggressive bone in the girl's body belongs to a character she plays in your game. Get a hold of yourself!_

Steph was predictably dressed in one of her favorite flannels and her most treasured beanie. As it turned out, on the other side of the door was Sam in an adorable blue dress that temporarily fried her brain. It had to work overtime to remember how the English language worked. “Um, hey, you uh... you look really cute.”

Samantha's face immediately lit up, and really if there was any concern that the two of them weren't evenly attracted, this was the proof. Steph was totally sunk.

“Oh, thank you! You're looking quite handsome yourself.”

“Why Samantha, how heteronormative of you.” Steph chuckled and stepped aside so that Samantha could come into her room. “Make yourself at home. Bed's gonna be your best spot to get a view of the television. Obviously, I didn't order the food yet since I wasn't sure what you wanted, but we can at least start the movie now.” She closed the door and went to join her on the uncomfortable school mattress. Still, once they were both in position with Sam nestling against her, legs tucked under her, lightly resting against her shoulder, it seemed like the most comfortable place in the world.

“Oh, right, um... I've been really craving dumplings for a while.” The two continued to discuss what they wanted to order as Steph plugged it all in to the website. Before long they had one hell of a haul that would be at her door soon, so she put her laptop aside and turned on her tv. “What are we watching anyway?”

“Ever heard of Scott Pilgrim?”

Sam's smile bloomed once again and she sat up slightly. “Yes! Well, I read the comics anyway. Never got a chance to see the movie, so this is exciting. I've heard great things.”

Thank goodness, that definitely made Steph's life a little easier. “Really? No offense, but I feel like I can't picture you reading a comic.”

She giggled softly and shook her head. “I read a little bit of everything. Comics, plays, penny dreadfuls, bodice rippers, whatever I can find that looks interesting. Besides, even if some of the references did go over my head, Scott Pilgrim is about a lot of stuff, so I never felt like it was unfamiliar.”

“Good enough for me.” Steph snickered and pushed play before relaxing and settling in more against the other girl. “Just promise me you're not gonna go on a whole tirade about how the book was definitely better. Or actually... do. Because it would probably be super cute.”

She had clearly nailed a bullseye with that comment because Sam went quiet and her face started to burn even bright. “W-W-Well, I-I mean thank you... but I-I wouldn't do that... You were nice enough to put all this together. I wouldn't take a crap all over that.”

Conversation came to a halt as the movie actually got underway, beginning with awesome comedy and ridiculously thumping music. Both girls were tapping out the rhythm on their thighs and bobbing their heads. Steph definitely felt better about this because they were in her room instead of a theater, making it feel way more intimate. She could, conceivably, reach over and kiss Sam if she so chose. But before she could follow that train of thought any further, her phone started ringing, causing the both of them to jump. They separated with bashful laughter and Steph hurried to pause the movie and go get their food from the delivery guy.

Things were kept on hold for a while as they ate together. “Okay, embarrassing question time, because I have to ask... You weren't nursing a crush on me for like a mega-long time, were you?”

Sam hurried to pop a dumpling in her mouth and chew through it, obviously not eager to answer. “Um, so... no. But... the full story is kinda way more embarrassing.” She sighed and thoughtfully chowed down on another dumpling. “I... I used to have this crush on Nathan. Or at least I thought I did. Honestly, it was probably just that I felt sorry for him. I wanted to make him feel better because people were always giving him shit. I found out what his favorite book was and got him a copy and gave it to him as a present and uhh... He... It didn't go well. He thought it was more insulting than anything, and threw it back in my face... After that, I got kinda jaded and it made me rethink everything until I realized I didn't even have actual feelings for him, just pity.” She laughed nervously, rubbing her neck slowly. “One day when I was feeling really down and you came up to me and asked me about what I was reading. You didn't try to make me feel better or anything. Just... let me nerd out about this goofy fantasy book for a while. And I... I guess maybe I fixated on that.”

“I remember that. I thought it was really cool how shamelessly excited you were. A lot of people try so hard to be so untouchable about everything. It was refreshing.” Stephanie carefully put her things aside and looked over at the other girl more intently. She lifted her hand and gently placed it on top of Sam's cheek. “...and really, really adorable.” She knew that they both had gross chinese food breath and they still had a movie to finish. But right now, in this moment, she needed to do it. She leaned in, giving Sam plenty of room to move out of the way, before kissing her softly.

Even if she had all the warning in the world, Samantha still made a tiny squeak of surprise. It hadn't occurred to Steph until it was too late that this might very well be the girl's first kiss, which only made it all the sweeter. Sam pulled back, looking slightly dazed. “Um. M-Movie?” She clearly wasn't too happy with how inane that statement was and tried again. “We should... keep watching. Th-The movie. It's really good.”

“Sure thing Sammy~”

* * *

There were a few more kisses peppered throughout the movie. But for the most part, the both of them were way too involved in the film – singing along, giggling at jokes, snuggling, all that cheesy stuff. At some point, the two of them had ended up in a more horizontal position, with Steph spooning Sam during the climax and deneaumont. As the movie ended, they lay there quietly, listening to the music playing over the credits.

It was only after Steph shut off the DVD player that Sam finally said something. “Um... So... I've never really done all this before. But... I kinda don't wanna leave your bed.”

Steph chuckled softly and nuzzled into her. “Well, it would be cruel of me to send you away like that. But if that's the case, then you should probably go get changed now. Don't worry, I'll be here.”

“R-Right, good point.” Very hesitantly, she got up from the bed and stretched. “Um, back in a second...”

While Sam was gone, Stephanie quickly rushed about her room putting things away and double-checking that there wasn't anything weird or embarrassing lying around. Luckily, in this scenario, things like monster manuals and dice bags no longer counted as weird or embarrassing. That done, she quickly switched into her favorite pair of worn-out shorts and loose shirt. The sound of her door drew her attention and she looked over to see Sam standing there awkwardly in a pair of yoga pants and a tank top. “Hey again...”

“Hey again~” Seeing the obvious anxiety, she closed the distance between them and shut the door behind her, then took both of Sam's hands. “Hope you don't think I'm a total nerd because I want to go to bed early.”

Sam actually managed a smile and even a giggle. “Nah. You're a nerd for lots of other reasons. But an early bedtime is just plain smart.”

With tentative steps, she tugged her back toward her bed, laying down and pulling Sam on top of her and into another kiss. This time, there was nothing else to get in the way of it. And Stephanie had every intention of letting it go on for just as long as possible. However, Samantha ended up being the one to break the kiss, looking down into Steph's eyes. She seemed... uncertain.

“What's up, Sammy? Everything cool?”

“Y-Yeah.” She nodded her head quickly and smiled, albeit nervously. “I just wanted to be clear that all this is really nice. But... I'm not ready for the... the 'more' stuff. That might take me a while.”

Steph reached up and brushed her fingers through Sam's hair, nodding in return and continuing to stroke her hair. “Hey... It's totally fine. I've done some stuff, but 'more' is still on my to-do list. So it's cool if we end up waiting it out for a while. 'More' isn't really the kind of thing anyone should rush into. So for now, this is great.” She pecked her one last time on the lips and was rewarded with a delightful giggle.

“Are we... dating now?”

That question, making Steph so nervous just a few days before, was now welcome. “Mmm, my impulse is to say something snarky here but... Yeah. I-I'd like that.” This time it was Sam who went in for a kiss, the both of them rolling to the side so they could snuggle up more underneath her blankets. She had never seen Sam's confession coming, but the thing that really caught her by surprise was just how much the mousy little wallflower could affect her in return.

 


End file.
